India: “Promoting the Joy of Love in Our Families,” by Cardinal Baldisseri

Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, exhorted the Bishops, priests and pastoral workers of India to create a renewed enthusiasm in the pastoral care of the family, reported Vatican Radio in English. On Wednesday, February 1, 2017, the Cardinal addressed the participants in the 29th Plenary Assembly of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), which began its work on Tuesday at Bhopal. The theme of this assembly is “Promoting the Joy of Love in Our Families.” More than 130 of the 182 Latin rite Bishops in the country are taking part in the discussions of these eight days on issues concerning families.

“Being a father is a difficult and demanding job,” stressed the Cardinal. He exhorted fathers of families to not neglect the education of their children and to exert themselves in “making time” for their children.

In the course of the Eucharistic celebration, Cardinal Baldisseri affirmed: “A father does not ‘educate’ his children by always saying ‘yes’; indeed it is sometimes necessary to say ‘no’ to help the child grow and improve.”

Quoting Pope Francis, he said: “Today there is a world war to destroy marriage. Today there are ideological colonizations which destroy, not with weapons, but with ideas.”

Recalling his souvenirs of India, when he was Apostolic Nuncio from 1999 to 2002, Cardinal Baldisseri characterized India as “a blessed land.”

A cultural program was held in the evening at the St. Joseph Co-ed School Auditorium for the participants and guests of the Assembly. A dance drama, based on the life of St. Mother Teresa, was presented on the occasion.